News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-01-13
HE Is A GOVERNOR NOW.
HE WAS RED HEADED BOY WITH
FRECKLED FACE,
But he Knew When he had Been Whipped
Enough TO Satisfy Him.

Enough TO Satisfy Him.
Lou Church had the reputation OF
being a very good little boy when he
lived up in Pike county. When Billy
Salmon, Black Lint, George Roys,
Nathan Roe and myself made that Sun
day raid on John Wallaces apple
orchard across the creek, and were
promptly ''taken up by the constable
next day, Lou Church wasn't along with
us. Why? His father collared him as
he was leaving the house by the back
nee to join US, and escorted him back
to the kitchen and admonished him
with the business part of a currant bush.
/ ain quite sure that if he had known
then that | was going to make him
Governor of Dakota he wouldn't have
disturbed the sweet peace of that Sab
bath morning with such a Comanche-
like yell as he did, and certainly
wouldn't have pointed the finger of
scorn at me afterward, when he learned
that outraged justice demanded from
me and the rest of the boys, at the
hands of old Squire ThraIl, forty-four
cents costs and SO bonds to keep the
peace for year, for gathering that
dozen or two of sour apples. Anyhow,
Lou kept his reputation for being
good little boy, and slowed away my
vengeance for future reference.
1t seemed to be the bounden duty of
every boy In Milford to lick Lou Church
as soon as school was out every after
noon. 1 don't know why it was, but it
was, and Lou seemed to recognize
the necessity of the proceeding, and
took the daily licking without protest
or murmur. The boys took turns in
polishing him off. l was then perform
ing the arduous duties of printers devil
in the only printing office in Pike
county, and had no time to devote to
this rotating punishment of Lou Church,
and, as l had licked every boy in town
except Billy Salmon and Sam Cortright,
l considered it below me to bother with
a boy with a red head and freckles
whom everybody could whip, even if l
did have it in for him.
Time passed. Among the possessions
of Lou Church's father wa a team of
gray horses. These have been and are
marvels in the animal kingdom, but
nothing was ever so fearfully and so
wonderfully made as Judge Church's
off gray horse. He had many points
that might be dwelt upon, but his chief
point, and the one that marked him as
a horse among ten thousand. was his
spring halt. 1t was situated in his his
right hind leg. People used to come
miles to see that horse as he spring
halted through town. When he was In
motion his right hind leg would leave
the earth with a suddenness that was
startling. 1t would fly high in the air,
and the impetus it gave the horse as a
whole would shove him ahead so swiftly
that his three other legs would have all
they could do to walk fast enough to
keep up with him That horse would |
shove himself ahead in this way hun |
dred yards or more before the impelling |
leg had gathered control of its tendOns |
sufficiently to seek the ground again
By that time the energy imposed by the |
spring halt leg would be exhausted, |
and the horse would almost come tc a |
standstilI. Then down would come the !
leg. 1t would rest for a moment on ,
the earth, and then, chug! up it would |
90, and off the horse would rush once |
more on his three legs like mad, only to |
slow down to await the action of its mo- |
tive power. 1t was as if that horse was |
wound up to go a hundred yaIds at
wind.
To ride behind him was a sensation
that few cared to experience. To ride |
on his back was like taking an outing |
on the paddle of ferryboat. When
Rhadamanthus-that was this pic |
turesque animals name-was quiescent |
in his stall or elsewhere, that wonder
full leg hung poised in mid air When
Col ha vii
smith, was called upon to shoe Rhada
damanthus he had to use stepladder
when he came to that leg.
Regularly every afternoon, as soon as |
school was out, and he had taken his
Il king, Lou Church was wont to |
solace himself with spin about the |
county on the ramifcating frame of
Rhadamanthus. As an apprentice to
the printers trade, living with my en-
ployer, l of course had to take care of
the baby, chop the wood and 20 after
the COWS. One winter we had lots of
cord wood but no hay. Our two COWS
would get along first rate without fire.
but they expected an occasional mouth
full of something to eat, and so the edi-
tor went over the subscription book and
found that farmer who lived six miles
either two cords of wood, eight bushels |
If potatoes, or half a ton of hay, accord |
ing to how the editor was fixed Not |
being fixed as to hay, the editor told |
me ] might take day off and walk out |
10 the farmers and tell him to fetch in
half ton, and get a receipt to d tie. 1t
was while returning from this GRAND |
that l met the future Governor of |
Dakota, outside of Rhadamanthus, now |
high in air and flying toward me as the |
horses three legs did their best to keep |
from mixing themselves up, and now
pausing in his career and disappearing |
from view as the spring halt leg re |
turned to earth to nserve more energy. |
My holiday had been somewhat broken |
up by the persistent watchfulness of Il |
big dog at the farmers, and by the fact |
that the farmer had produced receipt |
for a year in advance on account of a |
sometime side of beef delivered to the |
editor and had told me to tell the edi- |
tor that he sold hay for cash, anyhow.
SO WASN'T in very good humor, and |
as | recognized lou Church on his |
charger | made up my mind to settle the
whole business and my own old score
by taking it out OF LOUIS hide. As
Rhadamanthus came to the small end of
one OF his impulses, yelled, whoa
The poised leg hung heSitatingly for a
moment, and then stayed in midair.
Then knew the horse had stopped
"Get out O. my way, there, or I'll get
down and lam your shouted Lou.
much to my great surprise, for he wasn't |
IN the habit of talking back. But it |
was only Lou Church, and replied:
mo red headed chicken, W tn a
freckled face, and riding a spring halt
gray horse, can do that to me p'
was a liar.
Lou climbed down from his perch, |
and in three seconds made me bite The !
snow. He not only made me bite the |
snow, but he jammed and rammed my |
head down into it foot or more and |
made me chew It, When l got back |
breath enough to yell Enough" l was |
about as neatly dres ed out a. any rash |
youth ever was. Lou got back on |
RhadamaL thus somehow or other, the |
spring halt leg came down with a Jolt, |
and away they went in installments of |
speed and disappeared in the distance. |
1t seemed that Lou had grown weary |
of beng licked, and had made up his |
mind that very afternoon to have an in
ming himself. l happened to be the
first one he was called to experiment on.
The result of that experiment made a |
new boy of him. He licked every boy |
in town in less than a week, and ruled |